Eventually, you will be comfortable moving beyond the more familiar, less expensive woods like oak, poplar, pine, and fir, and you will probably try experimenting with more costly wood like cherry, maple, mahogany, ash, and elm. All Rights Reserved. When you are choosing between black locust or honey locust, you may find it helpful to look at other types of lumber with which these cousin trees are often compared. However, there are plenty of differences that can help you to tell the difference between black locust and honey locust trees. One major identifier is the long compound leaves with up to 19 leaflets which present the typical and unique locust leaf profile (not to be confused with the twice compound leaves of honey locust). All of them burn well. Here are the signs to look for when you need to differentiate these trees. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Hardwoods can be more difficult to work with, but they accept stain well and often include beautiful grain patterns, which make them more desirable to woodworkers and homeowners. As you can tell, the similarity between the names of these two tree varieties isn’t where their likeness ends. Other times it is made into beautiful furniture. Honey locust thorns are 3 to 6 inches long, while black locust thorns not very long. However, it is important to consider how your location and the availability of the wood in your area may affect pricing. Often times, the spring rains wash the nectar away before the bees get a chance to collect it themselves. Plus, the colors of the two trees are slightly different. The tulip poplar is not a poplar, it is in … Hardness is measured on the Janka scale and is quantified by pound-feet, represented as lb-ft or lbf. Black locust belongs in the Robinia genus, and honey locust belongs in the Gleditsia genus. black locust has very slightly higher energy/volume, while honey locust has very slightly higher energy/mass. Since black locust is so hard and durable, it can be a bit more difficult to manipulate and craft, compared to other types of wood. Honey locusts leaf out relatively late in spring, but generally slightly earlier than the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). It’s well-liked for turned objects, and boat builders tend to appreciate its qualities as well. Overall, both honey locust and black locust are fairly appealing to the eye. This fact does not generally affect the overall appearance of the finished wood, however. They are basically the weed of the tree world. By contrast, the honey locust wood has few if any such anomalies. A black locust has a rough dark brown bark whereas a honey locust tree has a bark that is gray to brownish colour. T he black locust tree, Robinia pseudoacacia, is famous for producing a fruity and fragrant honey that ranges from water white to lemon yellow to yellowish green.A batch of monofloral black locust honey with little cross-contamination from other flowers can be as clear as a glass jar. Your email address will not be published. But if you look at the seedpod, there are minor differences. Jan 10, 2009. outdoorlivin247 Addicted to ArboristSite. In appearance, the honey locust has wood with very similar coloring to the Kentucky Coffeetree. Gardening Channel. I have used both for firewood and cannot tell the difference once down and split. Both members of the pea family, black locusts and honeylocusts are native trees found throughout the continental United States, except for Washington and Oregon, where only black locusts are native. The honey locust pods are huge, up to a foot long and a couple inches wide. Both can have thorns, although Honey locust thorns tend to be in groups of 3 whereas black are in groups of 2 (directly opposite one another on branch). That is, the heartwood, or wood cut from the very center of a big, mature tree, may have a slightly different hue from the outer wood, or wide sapwood. Often these anomalies result from stress or damage to a woody plant. In France, Italy and Hungary it is known as Acacia honey. Both black locusts and honey locusts can be either trees or shrubs. This article reviews the nutrition, benefits, and potential downsides of acacia honey. Black Locust Identification . Black locust has a similar grain. The leaves are very different. However, black locust offers, among other things, valuable potential as a pollinator for the orchard. if the energy/mass measurement is used, though, there are plenty of other woods with higher marks. Similar to the black locust tree, this genus is native to states such as Pennsylvania, Iowa, Texas, and Georgia. Re: Black locust versus honey locust Both trees are native to the SE U.S. However, like black locust, it handles staining, gluing, finishing, and turning very well, and you will likely be pleased with the beautiful result. Black locust is often in competition with hickory, while honey locust is sometimes compared to the Kentucky Coffeetree. Its wood tends to be a bit darker, especially at the heart. All our honey locust are the thornless variety 'inermis'. It is often used as fence posts, like honey locust; but it may also be found in mine timbers, railroad ties, and flooring. The botanical name for black locust trees is Robinia pseudoacacia, and the botanical name for honey locust trees is Gleditsia triacanthos. The heartwood is usually a deep russet brown, while the outer wood is light yellow, sometimes with a greenish tint. Black Locust is also denser and produces more heat when used as firewood. Black locust belongs in the Robinia genus, and honey locust belongs in the Gleditsia genus. Comparing their differences is somewhat like trying to tell white oak apart from red oak. black locust and honey locust trees are locust trees, Difference Between Black and Honey Locust Trees. With the honey in the pea family and the back in the magnolia family. This number represents how strong, tough, and impact-resistant the wood is. The honey locust’s bark is brown or grey in colour and the tree has  bunches of thorns.Both the black and honey locust have … Both the black locust tree and the honey locust tree can be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 8. I don't know about axe handles but Honey and Black locust are both used for making all wood bows and based upon "The Wood Engineering Handbook" they are very tough woods, so they should work well. The texture is moderately even, and the wood has a natural luster of its own, which is moderate in comparison to the innate luster of other trees. In the course of your forays into various types of wood, you may come across the locust tree and its lumber. Both black and honey locust trees produce new leaves during late spring. Unlike some people, I like sawing the stuff. Black locust and honey locust, while very similar are also very different, even though they bloom at the same time, and for the same period of time, and have similar enough names. These are not rules just trends. Unlike black locusts, most of the leaves of honey locusts have no leaflet at the tip. The other ID marker is a small stout briar spine on branches, often curved and in … It comes in at 1700 lbf on the Janka scale. Once you compare honey locust vs. black locust, you will be able to determine which type of locust lumber might best suit the project you have in mind. From an engineering perspective (and being kinda picky about definitions) For the honey locust, the wide sapwood bears a pale yellow hue. The base of the leaves of the black locust tree has short and sharp thorns, unlike the honey locust tree, which has thorns all over it. As far as grain appearance goes, the honey locust tree usually has a fairly straight grain, though it may be naturally wavy or irregular in places. He also holds a bachelor's degree in English from Iowa University. Black vs Honey Locust Trees. Both the black and honey locust have smooth, thin, shiny seedpods. The color of a tree’s wood typically varies depending on the area from which the lumber is cut. Sometimes HL can appear from a distance as being 'hairy' with thorns, perhaps because they are. Tylosis is distension of a plant cell. Resistant or very resistant: old-growth bald cypress, catalpa, cedar (either eastern or western red cedar), black cherry, chestnut, junipers, honey locust, white oak, old-growth redwood, sassafras, and black walnut. We may earn an affiliate commission if you buy from one of our product links, at no extra cost to you. Black locust and honey locust lumber are often so similar that buyers confuse them with each other. We’ll teach you how to tell the difference between a honey locust tree and a black locust tree and also review some of their similarities and differences. Blog; Categories . The black locust is also known as the false acacia or yellow locust and there are about 10 species. Black Locust seems much harder and "cracky", (could just be the pieces I have- which are full of shakes) and doesn't seem nearly as porous … Honey locust trees can be called thorny honey locust or thorny locust trees, or the name can be styled as one word: honeylocust. 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